Ten
by ValeSwiss94
Summary: Just a fluffy series of events, happening around Zoey's wedding day. Hope you like it, read & review!


******I've had this story on my desktop for waaayy too much time, **I fixed a few typos, formatted it a bit better and reuploaded.

**Re-reading this, I don't even know how I wrote this. I really like it, and somehow I managed to get it just right (?).**

**Sadly I don't think I will be continuing this, as I don't really have time at the moment and my writing got really shitty out of practice :(**

**Still, I hope you enjoy this, and reviews are always welcome!**

******~ValeSwiss94**

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Ten. The number of drinks that should have put on hold the pain in his chest, but still didn't work. Eleven. He knew he was drunk, he just wasn't drunk enough. The bartender didn't even bother to look at him with the worried look he used to give him the first days. He was probably used by now on seeing him in those conditions. Suddenly, the pain softened a bit, only to be replaced by a feeling of nausea coming from the pit of his stomach. Bathroom. He was starting to use that room more to puke than the rest. Cellphone. Enough for tonight. He pressed number one, his speed-dial for a cab. Until a few months before, that number meant a special person. But then, things changed. Priorities changed, and suddenly a safe drive home was more important than the girl he had loved for 13 years. Pain. Maybe, on his way out, he would stop by the bar to get number twelve.

Light. Chase Matthews woke up to the sound of chirping of birds outside the window. Chirps that sounded like a thousand alarm clocks going off in his head, and, as he tried to get up from the couch, he realized the pain had gone from his chest straight to his head. He groaned, but insisted on getting onto his feet. He had learned. Leaning back down just made things worse. Today's breakfast was un-toasted toast. Not that on other days it would be different. He sat down on a chair, and realized it was today. His look went to a single white sheet of paper, lying on the table next to him. He could tell it was pricey paper, the kind you buy only on special occasions. The pain in his chest came back, and he felt like drinking again. He got up, left his half-eaten toast on the table and got his jacket from the bed. On his way to the door, he caught a glimpse of a reflection of himself in the mirror and sighed. Things had changed.

She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. The dress was just wonderful. Her fiancée had it coming from France, and, even though she didn't see the bill, she could tell it was more expensive than she could ever imagine. It had the lightest shade of pink, showed a large amount of skin, but not too much to seem slutty. It was pretty uncomfortable, as tight as it was to her sides, but she guessed it was right this way. It was the perfect dress, but just not the perfect dress for her. She knew that. She also knew the guy she was going to marry that day was the perfect guy, but not the perfect guy for her. Her right hand went up to cup her cheek, but she realized it wasn't such a great idea, since her make-up was already done and equally perfect as the dress. She stared at herself at the mirror, and didn't recognize herself. Somewhere, under those tons of make-up, was Zoey Brooks.

She closed her eyes, and thought about what was about to happen. Was this what she wanted? Was James Garrett the guy she wanted to spend the rest of her life with? Did she want to finally become Zoey Garrett? She had been questioning these things for over four months. But this time, it hit her. Hard. Her eyes snapped open, as she remembered a promise she had made a long time ago to her best friend. The one that was supposed to be there, right next to her, in this important moment of her life. But he wasn't. And she missed him. She missed him dearly, and just knew, she couldn't do this without him. She couldn't break a promise she made to him. So she rushed out the door, barefoot, and jumped into the first cab she could get.

Eight. Eight and he had already reached his limit. But, after all, it was only ten in the morning. The liquor burned in his throat. Normal. Even more normal if you think the only thing he had in his stomach was half a toast. He could feel the people eating breakfast staring at him. Didn't care.

Nine. The bartender wasn't the one used to him. He seemed worried. Could see him calling a cab. Bummer. He wanted number ten.

Half an hour later, he was in his apartment again, with a bottle of vodka in his hands. He slumped onto the couch, opened the bottle, and drank. He just wanted to forget.

**Chase POV**

"Chase! Chase, are you ok?" Warm hands on my face. Tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids where heavy as hell. Just let out a groan.

"Oh my God, Chase…" Something shifted from the bed. Feet walking on the kitchen's tiles. Something cold on my face. Finally I managed to open my eyes. Relief. Someone was pressing a wet piece of cloth to my forehead. Someone…

"Zoey?" my voice was raspy. Sounded like a monster.

"Hey" She smiled. I didn't know what he was feeling, but it was definitely something good.

"How are you feeling?" she asked and shifted the cloth on my head.

"Probably as good as I look right now" she giggled. Fluttery feeling in the stomach.

"Yeah. You look like you just drank a whole bar out" she lifted an empty bottle of vodka from the ground. "which is probably what you just did?" she added, and I couldn't help but laugh. The laugh turned into a groan as my head pounded like mad.

"You need some sleep" she said. Last thing I heard.

As I woke up, a nice smell of pasta was in the air. I slowly lifted himself up, and looked around, confused to find my apartment tidy and clean. The only thing I could see out of the ordinary (of half a year ago) was a light pink, very wet wedding dress by the door. But instead of asking himself questions I just followed the scent of cooked food.

**Zoey POV**

I was stirring the sauce, as I heard Chase's footsteps approaching. I turned to find him leaning against the door frame, still looking like a mess, but at least he seemed sober. I smiled shily, and realized he was scanning the clothes I was wearing.

"The dress was uncomfortable and wet from the rain, so I stole a shirt and a pair of pants from your drawer" I excused herself, blushing deeply.

He smiled, and just continued to stare.

"You look beautiful" Shit. Did he really say that?

I guess I blushed like a tomato. I turned back to the food, so that he couldn't see I was smiling. He called me beautiful.

"Beautiful, and surely better than me, right now. Do I have time for a shower?" He asked.

"Sure. The pasta will be ready in a few… if you want to eat"

"Well, this is probably the first cooked thing I'm going to eat in a while, pretty hard to resist" He replied and turned.

As he came back, he looked like another man: His hair had a normal shape (as normal as a bush could be), he had shaved and had changed his clothes. I had just got the pasta ready, and an uncomfortable silence surrounded us as we ate.

"So… thank you. For all this" he said, gesturing to the now clean room. "Plus, the pasta is delicious." I just nodded. What was I going to say?

"Can I ask you something?" Chase said. I nodded again. God, is my tongue dead?

"You were supposed to get married today… but you're here. And your wedding dress is over there, and I see no ring on your finger" he pointed to it. Suddenly the pasta became a challenge to swallow. I didn't know what to say. I really didn't. What do I do now?

"Well, you were also supposed to be at my wedding. Instead, I find you here, completely drunk and unconscious on the couch" I just snapped back.

"Point" Silence. Awkwardness.

"Second question?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Shoot"

"Your dress is wet" wow. What a catch.

"Yep" He looked at me strangely.

"Zoey, there's the sun outside"

"Yep" He'd finished the pasta. I slowly finished my plate.

"I went to California this morning, and it rained"

"California?" Okay Zoey, breathe. Take the dishes. Go to the kitchen. "Why did you go to California? You were supposed to get married in…"

"I know" I slowly breathed in and out. "I went to PCA"

Well, no wonder he's looking at me that way. He must think I'm insane.

"Stop it!" he almost yelled. "You're going to break the plate if you rub it some more" He grabbed the plate from my hands and put it back down in the sink.

"Zoey, what's wrong?"

I sighed. Zoey Brooks, you're in a mess now. I felt his hand on my cheek, so I finally looked up to him. Green eyes. I had always loved green eyes…

"I couldn't do it" And then I wasn't able to hold back anymore. Tears started rolling down my cheeks as I hugged him and sobbed into his chest.

**Chase POV**

The sudden contact with her body, as she started crying and hugged me, was crushing. Having her in my arms again was wonderful, but I definitely never imagined her to be crying. The last time we had been like this, was senior year: Zoey had just caught James cheating on her. After that, I had promised myself I would never let anything happen to her ever again. This until she and James got together again, and I lost my chance.

"Hey, Zoe, hey… don't cry. Everything's okay. I'm here now" She seemed to recollect herself a bit. She wiped her eyes, trying to get the tears to stop. My heart was aching.

"Sorry" She said, after a long silence. "I'm sorry" She repeated, pulling away a bit from my chest to look up at me.

"Sorry for what? In senior year I told you, you could always count on me if you needed something. I'm just keeping a promise I made…" But that must have been the wrong thing to say, because she started crying again. I'm such an idiot.

Suddenly she pulled away and ran to the couch to look into her purse. Then she turned to me, handed me an orange DVD and pointed to the tv.

"I have promised you something, 10 years ago, too" And I really wasn't getting it. But her expression wasn't the one that gave you a choice, so I pulled the DVD out of its case, turned the tv on and hit play.

"Hi, my name is Zoey Brooks and if you're watching this…" No way. Absolutely. No way. I hit pause, and turned to her. She was looking at the screen, a hint of a smile on her lips. She nodded me to go on, and I pressed play again.

"… you must be twenty years from now." We stayed like this, for what seemed an eternity to me, listening to teen Zoey talk about her life at PCA, Dana, Nicole, Quinn, Logan and Michael. And then, finally…

"And now I want to talk to you about one of the closest people I have met here at PCA. His name is Chase Matthews, and he's one of the funniest, nicest, sweetest guys here at PCA" I stopped the video again.

"I don't know if I should be watching this" Zoey looked at me with a non-negotiable look. Hit play again.

"He's my shoulder to cry on. He's the one I know will always be there for me, even in the toughest times." I could see Zoey looking at me with the corner of my eye, but I couldn't concentrate. Say it, say it, say it…

"He's the one I can picture on my side at graduation, my roommate in college, and in the front row at my wedding" Guilt. A huge feeling of guilt rushed over me, but surprisingly, the was something else I felt. Betrayal. In the front row. Not beside her… I was just the best friend. I had always been, just the best friend. The buddy in the friendzone…

"it will be interesting to see, in twenty years, what happened to all of us. I hope we will still be friends like always. This is the gang, my friends, and I think I talked enough for today… See you in twenty years!"

The video shut down. The room was dark and silent, and I really didn't know what to do or say. I felt broken, like everything you've believed in a lifetime just disappeared…

"There's something the video doesn't say" Zoey said, shifting closer to me on the couch. A bubble of hope formed in my chest…

"because I didn't know it back then. It's something I realized just later, when it was too late to do anything about it" She was playing with the hem of my shirt. Please just say it…

"There's a reason I didn't get married today, there's a reason my phone is turned off in my purse, and there's a reason I'm wearing your old clothes instead of a wonderful French wedding dress"

We locked eyes, and I couldn't help but notice how sexy she looked in one of my PCA t-shirts, her hair still slightly damp from the rain.

"You"

Silence fell once again among us, but I didn't care. It was just us.

She wasn't saying anything. She seemed lost, like me, in our own little world, until she raised a hand and traced the outline of my jaw with her fingertips… and that did it. I don't know what drove me, I just knew I needed her then. I had needed her for so long. So I leaned in and kissed her.

Heaven.

She didn't seem surprised by my action. I could feel her breath on my cheek, as I poured everything I had in my heart in that kiss. She didn't do anything. Literally. She let me kiss her, for about a minute, before pulling away and looking down. And I could practically feel my heart shatter into pieces…

Then she smiled. She smiled broadly, looked up, got up from the couch and sat on top of me, cupping my face, and kissing me like I had done to her. Passion fizzled in the air, as my hands went around her back and pressed her even more into me. Her hands went to my hair, and she opened her mouth to french kiss. Oh, right. I almost forgot it was Zoey. And Zoey was always in control.

And as cheesy as it could sound, I was drunk in love.

Hands under shirts. Clothes on the floor. And suddenly…

"I love you" She whispered on my lips.

"I love you" I replied. And there weren't other words until the end of the night.

**Zoey POV**

I woke up the next morning being held in Chase's arms. I could feel him breathing slowly, and I nuzzled my face into his neck. His scent was wonderful. He smelled like blue Axe, mixed with (in my mind) the smell of forest, paper, and green grass. It was my Chase…

I was so comfortable there, in the arms of the man I love, that I almost had to force myself to get up. I tried to wriggle myself out of his embrace without waking him, but…

"You're not going anywhere" He whispered, yawning and holding me tighter. I giggled lightly and relaxed into his arms.

"You know, it's already ten in the morning" I said.

"So?"

"So… I'm hungry" He opened his eyes and gave me one of those oh-so-chase grins I loved. Then he rolled us over, so that he was on top.

"What about a shower, first?" He murmured into my neck, and started kissing his way down my jaw.

"Good point" I managed to spit out. By this time he was already down at my belly button. I knew what he was going for, so I lightly cupped my hands on his face, looked deeply into his eyes and… jumped up and ran to the bathroom.

"Gotta catch me first, Matthews!"

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**Thanks so much for reading, don't forget to review!**

**~ValeSwiss94**


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